Council Member Alicka Ampry-Samuel/Image Credit: John McCarten/NYC Council

The bill will help protect community gardens and allow them to remain in the City. On March 29, 2020, Introduction 1652-A was enacted into Local Law 46 of 2020. Local Law 46 requires the Department of City Planning to reclassify tax lots currently used as GreenThumb community gardens on the Primary Land Use Tax Lot Output (“PLUTO”) database. The PLUTO database has information on the City’s tax lots. Currently, tax lots with GreenThumb community gardens are classified on PLUTO as “vacant lots.” Under Local Law 46, these tax lots will be reclassified under a new category that indicates that the lot is being used as a community garden. The law, sponsored by Council Member Alicka Ampry-Samuel, was proposed to protect community garden tax lots from being used for development.

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Council Member Antonio Reynoso. Image credit: William Alatriste, New York City Council

Council backs not-for-profit sector with new legislation. On March 29, 2020, Local Law 42 of 2020 was adopted by the City without the Mayor signing it following unanimous City Council approval.  Local Law 42 was originally introduced as Int. No 245-of 2018 by Council Member Antonio Reynoso and was later amended twice. The new law creates an exemption for City tax lien sales of properties owned by not-for-profit organizations. The law also creates a not-for-profit ombudsperson within the City’s Department of Finance.

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Council Speaker Corey Johnson Image Credit: New York City Council

Follow CityLand on twitter if you cannot watch City Council’s first ever virtual Stated meeting. On April 15, 2020, the New York City Council announced that it will be holding a Stated meeting on Wednesday April 22, 2020 at 1:30 PM. The meeting will be held remotely, a first for the New York City Council. The Stated meeting will be the first since February 27, 2020. The subsequently scheduled meetings were all canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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90 Sands Street Building/Image Credit: Breaking Ground/CPC

The building conversion will bring 508 supportive and affordable residential units to DUMBO. On March 13, 2020, the City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises approved an application to facilitate the conversion of a 29-story former hotel building at 90 Sands Street. The building would be converted into a mixed-use residential use and community facility building with a future possibility for commercial use. To facilitate the conversion, the applicant, Breaking Ground, is proposing to rezone Brooklyn Block 87, which comprises of 90 Sands Street and 175 Pearl Street, from a manufacturing zoning district to a special mixed-use district that allows residential use and to designate the block as a Mandatory Inclusionary Housing area. Brooklyn Block 87 is bounded by High Street to the north, Sands Street to the south, Jay Street to the east, and Pearl Street to the west. For CityLand’s prior coverage on the application, click here.

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Rendering of the new eight-story building on 52nd Street./Image Credit: Albo Liberis and CPC

The new development would be located near the 7 line and many bus stops. On March 13, 2020, the City Council Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises approved an application to rezone part of 52nd Street in Sunnyside, Queens. The rezoning will affect the east side of 52nd Street, bounded by Roosevelt Avenue to the north and Queens Boulevard to the south. The street would be rezoned from a low-density residential zoning district that allows three-story buildings to a medium-density residential zoning district that allows eight-story buildings. The rezoning would facilitate the construction of a new eight-story mixed-use building located mid-block between 43-09 and 43-25 52nd Street. On February 19, 2020, City Planning voted to approve the application. For CityLand’s prior coverage on the application, click here.

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